Lau chingri.....and a rainy afternoon

Well no ... not rainy exactly.... but cloudy certainly and very depressingly gloomy....
I was debating whether to have lunch or just have anything that was in the fridge.I usually refrain from keeping cooked food for more than 2 days.(C does not like it) and so usually you will not find anything very edible stored in the fridge other than milk, sauces, jams and raw vegetables.
So very stealthily I opened the fridge praying to find something and there it was..... no no... to be more precise... there was 'nothing'.. readily eatable.... (Poor me!sob!)...
But by then my hunger pangs had grown severe and I decided to cook something that would take me less than 20 minutes.
I fished out a gourd ( half of which we have had two days back) and found a quarter pound of kucho chingri (small shrimps) in the deep freezer.
So there it was Lau Chingri... a very traditional bengali recipe and very light and healthy.
You can spice this up with coconut shavings and boiled bengal gram lentil.... but without these condiments too this dish is simply delectable.

Ingradients:

Bottle gourd: half of a medum sized one peeled , washed and chopped finely
Shrimp: 1/4 lb
Mustard seeds:1/2 tsp
Panch foron:1/2 tsp
light coconut milk:5 tbsp
ginger paste:1 tbsp
dry red chilli:2-3
coriander leaves:a hanful
oil:4 tbsp
salt
sugar

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and lightly saute the shrimp with a pinch of salt.
Set them aside.
Now heat the remaining oil and sizzle the mustard seeds, chiilies and the panch foron.
Add the bottle gourd. Add a pinch of salt and stir.
Now cover the pan ,put the heat on medium and let the gourd cook in its own juices for 7-8 minutes.
When the gourd is soft add the ginger paste and stir again.
Add the shrimps now with the cocnut milk and cover and cook for 2 more minutes.
Now remove the cover and add salt and sugar according to taste.Note that the coconut milk should dry up before you remove form heat.
Add the coriander and serve hot with white rice...YUM!

P.S. Paanch foron is a Bengali spice mix comprising of paanch or 5 spices. This is mainly used for tempering or foron. It comprises of whole
1.Fennel
2.Fenufreek
3.Nigella
4. Mustard (black)
5. Cumin

Teto r dal (bitter lentils)

Calcutta is famous for its sultry summers. Those summer afternoons were long and balmy and every day after school when I sat down for lunch with Ma there would be two things that were Ma's summer specials. The first one was teto r dal . Now , I am very fond of bitter vegetables (funny eh!) and since then I have come to know that these bitter stuff help to keep the body cool.

Since Sunday the weather here had been unusually warm. And so I missed Ma's tetor dal more than ever. C was a little apprehensive.."Bitter dal?!! How do you make that? Is it good?"He asked me over the phone when I told him that's what I had packed for his lunch."Tell me how it is after you have had it", I told him.
An hour later C told me it was his best lunch ever! He loved the dal!( I knew he would! :))

I also looked up the recipe from Bong Mom's Cookbook.

Ingradients:
moong dal-1/2cup
masur dal-1/3 cup
bottle gourd (lau/lauki)-half of one middle sized one chopped into chunky pieces
bitter gourd (ucche/karela)-2 small cut into circular pieces
ginger paste-1 tbsp
Kalo jire (onion seeds)- 1/2 tsp
salt-according to taste
oil-2 -3tsp
green chilli- 1-2(optional)
turmeric-a pinch

Pressure cook the dal (do not dry roast or fry the dal) with the bottle gourd, turmeric , salt , ginger paste and 1/2 tsp oil.
Now in a pan fry the bitter gourd pieces (not too crisp). Just let them cook.
In the remaining oil sizzle the onion seeds and the green chilli.
Pour the boiled dal and adjust seasoning and consistency.
Serve with hot white rice on a summer afternoon and ENJOY!